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Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes is a children's animated television series created by Kelly Dillon, Marc Dey and Robert Vargas, and premiered on Disney Junior on March 22, 2023.[1] The series is co-produced by Triggerfish Animation Studios, Frog Box Productions, Entertainment One and TeamTO, with the participation of France Télévisions and Disney Junior.
| Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes | |
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| Genre | Comedy Action-Adventure Superhero Martial Arts Magical Girl |
| Created by |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
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| Running time | 24 minutes (2 12-minute segments) |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Disney Junior |
| Release | March 22, 2023 – present |
Premise
editThe series is set in a fictional African city called Kimoja City, and centers on three best friends named Kiya, Jay, and Motsie. Whenever there is a problem in town, the trio heads to their headquarters called Crystal Eyes where they transform into superheroes. The friends can also transform outside of Crystal Eyes by putting on their bandanas.
Characters
editMain
edit- Kiya (voiced by Dineo du Toit) is the leader of the Kimoja Heroes. Her gadget is a baton that creates energy rings that can hold things they surround. She is seven years old.
- Jay (voiced by Ian Ho) is Motsie's older stepbrother and one of Kiya's friends and fellow superheroes. His gadget is a guitar that creates energy blocks that can be used as barriers and has the ability to fly.
- Motsie (voiced by Fontina Fourtounes) is Jay's younger stepsister and one of Kiya's friends and fellow superheroes. Her interests are roller skating and building high-tech tools. Her gadget is a zip tool that is used to grab and swing on things. She is also equipped with special nets for trapping things.
Recurring
edit- Daddy Jo (voiced by Bonko Khoza) is Kiya's widowed father and the owner of a food truck.
- Bra Jabu is the owner of a produce stand.
- MC Harmony is the events coordinator of Kimoja City.
- Aunty Busi is a woman who is conscious about her hair.
- Gogo Flo is Kiya's maternal grandmother.
- Shandu is Jay and Motsie's mother who works as a hairstylist.
- Marianne is Jay and Motsie's other mother who works as a safari park worker.
Villains
edit- Zane/Acrobrat (voiced by Christian Campbell) is a young Kimojian who turns into Acrobrat when he doesn't get his way. As Acrobrat, he is athletic as his alter-ego suggests, and can roll into a ball to travel faster.
- Haddy Collider (voiced by Maja Vujicic) is a mechanical supervillain who creates gadgets to stop the Kimoja Heroes.
- Galactoslug (voiced by Cory Doran) is Haddy's sidekick and pet slug.
- Primadonna (voiced by Tumelo Mosese) is a supervillain with telekinesis that wreaks havoc when something goes wrong.
Episodes
edit| No. | Title [2][3] | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original air date [2][3] | Prod. code [2][4] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kiya and the Kite Monster" | Robert Vargas | Charles Schneck | March 22, 2023 | 101 | 0.16[5] |
| "Cosmic Catastrophe" | Christian De Vita | Richard Fabby | ||||
| 2 | "Zero to Hero" | Tshepo Moche & Raffaella Delle Done | Richard Fabby | March 23, 2023[a] | 102 | N/A |
| "Take a Step Back" | Eric Noto | Jonathan Bocquet | ||||
| 3 | "Kiya's Potluck" | Khadidiatou Diouf | Octavia Bauer | March 24, 2023[a] | 103 | 0.14[6] |
| "Musical Mash-Up" | Léa Lespagnol | Eric Couta | ||||
| 4 | "Going Solo in a Snowglobe" | Christian De Vita | Guillaume Schaal | March 31, 2023[b] | 104 | N/A |
| "Revolting Robots" | Anaïs Lebeau & Roman Van Liemt | N/A | ||||
| 5 | "A Little Birdy Told Me" | Justine Cheynet | N/A | April 7, 2023 | 105 | N/A |
| "The Night of 1000 Lights" | Anaïs Lebeau | Jonathan Bocquet | ||||
| 6 | "Fight or Flight" | Tshepo Moche & Raffaella Delle Done | April 14, 2023 | 106 | 0.16[7] | |
| "Clash of the Kora" | Franck Yaya | |||||
| 7 | "Kiya and the Boombastic" | Marc Dey | N/A | April 21, 2023 | 107 | N/A |
| "Acroboo!" | Khadidiatou Diouf | Jonathan Bocquet | ||||
| 8 | "Smelly Business" | Khadidiatou Diouf | N/A | May 12, 2023 | 108 | N/A |
| "Kiya's Monster Movie Night" | Robert Vargas | Karim Gouyette | ||||
| 9 | "King of Pranks" | Christian De Vita | N/A | May 26, 2023 | 109 | 0.12[8] |
| "Bugging Out" | Richard Fabby | |||||
| 10 | "Ready Set Freeze" | Léa Lespagnol | June 2, 2023 | 110 | N/A | |
| "Honey Camp" | Khadidiatou Diouf | |||||
| 11 | "Jay and the Super Fans" | Baptiste Renard | June 23, 2023 | 111 | 0.12[9] | |
| "We Heart Art" | Pierre-Gilles Stehr | |||||
| 12 | "Primadonna's Detective Agency" | Jessica Kedward and Kirsty Peart | July 7, 2023 | 112 | N/A | |
| "Day of the Slugs" | Simon Raynaud | |||||
| 13 | "Galactoslug Gets His Groove" | Jessica Kedward and Kirsty Peart | Karim Gouyette (part 1) & Guillaume Schaal (part 2) | July 21, 2023 | 113 | N/A |
| 14 | "The Primadonna Puzzle" | Kelly Dillon | August 4, 2023 | 114 | 0.13[4] | |
| "Fear of Mission Out" | Khadidiatou Diouf | |||||
| 15 | "Stealing the Spotlight" | Fernando Worcel and Nicolas Sedel | August 25, 2023 | 115 | 0.14[4] | |
| "Duel of the Inventors" | Christian De Vita | |||||
| 16 | "Primadonna's Bodyguards" | Jean De Loriol | September 1, 2023 | 117 | 0.13[4] | |
| "The Squish Bouncer Bandit" | Marc Dey and Raffaella Delle Done | |||||
| 17 | "Double Trouble!" | Fernando Worcel and Nicolas Sedel | September 8, 2023 | 118 | 0.11[4] | |
| "Size Me Up" | Alain Vallejo | |||||
| 18 | "It Takes a Kimoja Village" | Anaïs Lebeau | October 20, 2023 | 119 | 0.13[4] | |
| "Motsie's Space Race" | Fernando Worcel and Nicolas Sedel | |||||
| 19 | "Who's Got Talent" | Fernando Worcel and Nicolas Sedel | N/A | November 24, 2023 | 116 | 0.09[4] |
| "Snow in Kimoja" | Franck Yaya | Norman Leblanc | ||||
| 20 | "Kimoja Go!" | Jean De Loriol and Christian De Vita | December 15, 2023 | 120 | 0.10[4] | |
| 21 | "Chikobrat" | Christian De Vita | January 5, 2024 | 121 | 0.12[4] | |
| "Jay and the Invisibility Ray" | Jessica Kedward and Kirsty Peart | |||||
| 22 | "Kimoja Friendship Sleepover" | Simon Raynaud | January 12, 2024[c] | 122 | N/A | |
| "Rise of the Blob" | Charles-Henri Moarbes | |||||
| 23 | "The Chair of Honour" | Anaïs Lebeau | January 19, 2024[c] | 123 | 0.13[4] | |
| "Acrobrat's Fun House" | Baptiste Renard | |||||
| 24 | "Motsie and the Baby Bush Babies" | Léa Lespagnol | January 26, 2024[c] | 124 | 0.09[4] | |
| "UniWolf" | Fernando Worcel and Nicolas Sedel | |||||
| 25 | "Daddy Jo's Dance Down" | Jessica Kedward and Kirsty Peart | February 2, 2024[c] | 125 | N/A | |
| "The Groovier Mover" | Cédric Chauveau | |||||
| 26 | "Kimoja Crystal New Year" | Christian De Vita | February 9, 2024[c] | 126 | N/A |
Production
editOn February 25, 2021, it was announced that Entertainment One had greenlit Kiya, a series about a young superhero and her two best friends, set to launch in multiple markets globally in 2023. Kiya's world features a diverse cast of characters inspired by the varied landscape, natural beauty and culture of Southern Africa. The series is based on an original concept from South African-based production company Triggerfish and developed for television by Frogbox and eOne.[11]
On June 17, 2021, it was announced that Disney Junior and Disney+ had picked up both broadcasting and streaming rights for the series, now titled Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes.[1]
Broadcast
editKiya & the Kimoja Heroes premiered on Disney Junior on March 22, 2023, with the first three episodes being released on Disney+ earlier that day.[12]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Tartaglione, Nancy (June 17, 2021). "Disney+ Sets Animated Sci-Fi Anthology 'Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire', Picks Up 'Kiya And The Kimoja Heroes' – Annecy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes Episode Listings". The Futon Critic.
- ^ a b "Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes Episode Guide". Zap2it.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes". USTVDB. 26 January 2024.
- ^ Mitch Metcalf (March 23, 2023). "Wednesday 3.22.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ^ Mitch Metcalf (March 27, 2023). "Friday 3.24.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ Mitch Metcalf (April 17, 2023). "Friday 4.14.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ Mitch Metcalf (May 30, 2023). "Friday 5.26.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Mitch Salem (June 26, 2023). "Friday 6.23.2023 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
- ^ "Next on Disney+: January 2024". Disney Plus Press (Press release). December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ "ENTERTAINMENT ONE GREENLIGHTS NEW PRESCHOOL SERIES KIYA ABOUT A NEW SUPERHERO WHO SAVES THE DAY WITH MARTIAL ARTS AND DANCE" (PDF). Entertainment One (Press release). February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
- ^ "Video: eOne Announces Premiere Date for New Animated Series "Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes" With Release of First-Look Trailer & Images" (Press release). Hasbro. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023 – via The Futon Critic.